Automatic poultry-feeder.



F. R. PARKS.

AUTOMATIC POULTRY FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18. I916.

1 1 92,677. Patented July 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

li'fiforls F. R. PARKS.

AUTOMATIC POULTRY FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18, 1915.

l ,1 92 577. Patented July 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wihaemmo FREDERICK BOW PARKS, OF FULTON, NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC POULTRY-FEEDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 18, 1916. Serial No. 79,128.

To all to hem it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK R. PARKS, a citizen-of the United States, residing at Fulton, in the county of Oswego and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Poultry- Feeders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in automatic feeders for poultry, animals, etc., and consists in the provision of means whereby gates or dam- 20 pers may be actuated to allow feed to be discharged at different hours, regulated by clockwork.

My invention comprises various details of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts which will be hereinafter fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

1 illustrate my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of my automatic grain feeding apparatus, partly in section. Fig. 2 is an end elevation. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. a is a section on line H of Fig. 3.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a hopper, adapted to be supported in any suitable manner as by suspension wherever the apparatus is to be used and having a series of metallic partitions B which are angled at B and forming means for spacing the same and which are held in slots in the contracted portion of the hopper. lThe hopper is provided with adjustable inclined partitions G which may be regulated to cause the feed to be deposited in various compartments formed by the partitions, so that quantities of material may be fed at difierent hours. The bottom of the hopper has openings D, one for each compartment, and E is a rock shaft having gates or doors F pivoted at their inner ends thereto and their outer ends F are free and project beyond the bottom of the hopper, and each has a lug F struck up therefrom, forming trips. Fastened to the lower portion of the hopper is a bar H secured to the hopper frame. A series of horizontally disposed tilting levers I are pivotally mounted upon the pins I and the long arms of said levers are adapted to engage underneath the free endsF of the doors and support the same in closed relation with the openings in the bottom of the hopper. A longitudinal bar L has pins L projecting therefrom and positioned between the short arms of the levers and adapted, when actuated in one direction, to cause the leversto tilt upon their pivots.

Bracket bars N are secured to the ends of the hopper and support the pulleys O and O, mounted near the ends of the hopper and over which a line Q; passes which has a weight R fastened at one end, the other end passing about a pulley J having a clutch collar J rotating therewith, which latter and the pulley are journaled upon a stationary shaft J held by a bracket member J upon the end of the hopper. A second pulley, designated by letter J is loosely journaled upon said rod and has a clutch collar J integral therewith adapted to be held in engagement with the teeth of the clutch collar J bymeans of a coiled spring S which bears between the pulley J and the bracket arm Jt A belt J passes about the pulley. J and also a pulley J upon the shaft J of the hour hand of a clock J and affording means whereby a movement may be imparted to the line Q, at predetermined moment for the purpose of actuating one or another of the levers to allow certain compartments to discharge their contents. A trip, designated by letter T, is loosely mounted upon the line Q and is adapted to be moved into contact successively with the short arms of the several levers by the lug Z which is fixed to the line Q, and when the latter is moved in one direction by the pulling of the weight B thereon. As the trips contact with the various levers, they will be tilted upon their pivots, allowing the doors to swing down to allow the contents of the compartments to fall therefrom. The line Q has an adjustable lug Z adapted to contact with the trip T.

A spreading apparatus W, inverted V- shaped in cross section, is suspended a suitable distance below the bottom of the hopper and serves as a means for spreading the food as it falls from the hopper.

The device for resettingv the doors consists Patented July 25, rare.

of the swinging bail-shaped member X piv--- oted at its ends at X to-the endsof-the hopper and, when swung in one direction, will throw the doors to their horizontal positions where they will be engaged and held in such position by the long'arms of said levers.

The parts of the apparatus being arranged as shown, food is placed within the compartments, the various inclined partitions C being adjusted to cause the foodto fall by gravity into difierent compartments. As the clock mechanism vreleases the pulley 10, the weight which is fastened to the end of the line Q, will cause the pulleys J and J to rotate, unwinding the line and, when the lug Z comes in contact with the trip T, it will move the latter frictionally against the outer short arm of the lever I and cause the lever to swing horizontally, throwing the inner end of the lever from engagement with the "projecting end of the door F and which,

when released, will fall by gravity and, when the rope is'allowed to make another intermittent movement at a predetermined moment, determined by the setting of the clock mechanism, the lug Z will push the trip T against the next lever and so on in succession, swinging the same in order and allowing the different compartments to deposit their contents upon the spreader below. When it is desired to return the parts to their; normal position, the operator, by swinging the bail-shaped member -X, may throw the doors back to horizontal positions and, by turning the pulley J, the line or rope may be rewound upon the same and, by

giving a longitudinal movement to the bar L to the right, the pins thereon coming in contact with the various short arms of the levers will throwthe same back to their normal positions underneath the projecting ends will hold the same in their set positions and the bar L may be moved back to the left so thatthe pins L thereon will be out of the Copies of this patent may be obtained for five'cents each, by addressing the Washington, D. 0.

the, bottom thereof, a series of separate and pivotal doors regulating the openings, horizontally disposed pivotal levers for supporting the free ends of the doors, a weighted rope and pulley about which thesame winds,

clock mechanism for releasing the rope, a

movable trip upon the rope and a link fixed to the latter adapted to move the trip successively against the corresponding ends of 50 partitions therein and having openings in said levers to release the same from said doors, and means for limiting the movements of the levers in one direction. I

2. An' automatic poultry and animal feeding apparatus comprising a hopper with the bottom thereof,a series of separate and pivotal doors regulating the openings, horizontally'disposed pivotal levers for supporting the free ends of the doors, a weighted rope and pulley about which the same winds,

successively against thecorresponding ends partitions therein and having openings'in of said levers to release the same from said doors. v I

In testnnony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature 1n presence of two witnesses.

at f FREDERICK now PARKS: 1-

Witnesses:

j, Mes. NILA C. LUM,

JAMES C. FERRIS.

Commissioner ozratena, 

